《Innocence》 2016／Hanging Scroll
Pure and innocent flower buds
Contain the heart of a flower that light up the world
Oblivious to frost and snow

Pinky Chiang (Artist)
I feel that there can be innovation in contemporary ink wash paintings, meaning that you can present it in whatever method you desire. The reason I opted to use “hanging scrolls” as my method of presentation is because ‘hanging scrolls’ is a medium that is rich in history. For instance, Sen no Rikyū, the Saint of Tea in Japan, believes that the most important tea-ware in Japanese “Way of Tea” is the hanging scroll. Rikyū thinks that only after the hanging scroll is selected can the theme then be determined, followed by the selection of other tea wares. As such, one can say the hanging scroll is a spiritual symbol for the entire tea ceremony.
In fact, my experience of the tea ceremony in Kyoto, Japan tells me that the creativity of art works can be integrated with the contemporary and fashionable tea mats, akin to identifying a method for the realization of incorporating art into daily life.

Pinky Chiang (Artist)
What I normally put in western-styled frames are epic-like works that are more expansive and manifest the big issues in life. What I put in the hanging scrolls are vignettes. The expression of artists’ emotional moments is something that is often termed as “a state of being” in traditional ink wash paintings. So I feel that hanging scrolls are suitable for vignettes, which can quiet your mind and allow you to experience certain moods. I would put this type of work on the hanging scrolls.

《Shangri-La》 2015／Hanging Scroll
The divine goddess walks through the human world,
Sprinkling flowers and kissing
The land blessed by deities.

Pinky Chiang (Artist)
During my creation process, I don’t pre-conceive how the work will turn out. Instead, I wait till the work is completed then I think about whether I should place it inside the western-styled frame or on the hanging scrolls. So the decision comes after the completion of the work.

Incidentally, during my creation of “Spring Blooms” (Literati Screen Creation), I encountered a huge problem related to the above point.

《Spring Blooms》 2015／Literati Screen
Flowers in spring, chirping in the mountains
Blooming, budding in fresh greenness,
Playing an orchestra of silence amongst the rocks.

Pinky Chiang (Artist)
“Spring Blooms” is a four-part painting in which I used abstract painting methods to express the fresh thriving greenness and vitality during Taiwan’s spring as well as the omnipresent cherry blossoms in full bloom during this time.

Looking at the four parts of the painting, I cannot help but feel that it would be a shame to frame it as a four-part painting, and it'd also be a shame to hang them up on four hanging scrolls. I feel that the work calls for a different presentation.

Then it occurred to me that I have had long-standing fondness for screens. Though screens have never played a substantial part in my life while I was growing up, but maybe my love for reading has brought me into contact with screens via books like The Tale of Genji, a depiction of everyday living situations during the Heian period in Japan. At that time, Japan was heavily influenced by the culture of the Tang Dynasty in China, thus during that time, screens were used as partitions or as wind shields, so one can say screens are basically "mobile paintings".

To create Japanese-styled screens from that period was no easy feat, and it took half a year and much trial and error. It was a process full of twists and turns!

In the end, when the framing artist stood the screen up, the painting was brought to life, and we felt a sense of great elation. I knew then that we had found the best way to present the painting.

Vicky Lin (Curator) :

This entire space is a work by Pinky.
We use hanging scrolls, screens, flowers and little adornments in daily life in this space to allow visitors to feel like they are in an oasis within the bustling metropolis. Here, one can feel the wind and hear the bugs singing outside, and one will also sense a feeling that touches you because you feel connected with this place. You will feel that there is something different about this space. You are not visiting a cold, lifeless place to see something beautiful, but instead, you know you have stepped into a space where you can live in. You may even feel as if being transported back to the Tang Dynasty or to ancient Japan, to somewhere idyllic, someplace imbued in beauty beyond description.

So I believe that for Pinky, being an artist allows other people to experience the elegance that emanates from her brimming artistic energy in the shortest amount of time.

Lainudung Chuang (Artist, Art Professor) :

Pinky did not receive professional art training, so she is not burdened by the styles of the artists that came before her when she was learning ink wash painting. This gives her certain advantages in that she is freer during the creative process. Her freedom is the ultimate freedom. When she is painting, she could appear to us to have already stepped forward into unmapped territories, even though she might not know it herself, and we can say that in future she might open up new possibilities for ink wash paintings.

Mao-shu Lin (Artist, Gallery Owner) :

Her advantage is that she is not limited by materials or restricted by any norms or rules of professional painters. She can be free and go, “yeah, this may work, let’s try it.” Thus, she has greater freedom to express herself.
If she continues to utilize her advantages to create artwork, I think she will become a superstar in the future.